Politico (6/4, Smith) reports, “States looking to address gun violence are overhauling mental health laws – and sometimes exposing rifts over how to best address the small but serious threat of violence.” However, “changing policies on involuntary commitment, or requiring therapists to report potentially dangerous patients, are stirring fears that well-intentioned policies could increase stigma and deter the very people who most need treatment from getting it.” While the majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent, “some of the horrific mass shootings in recent years have been carried out by people with serious mental diseases, reinforcing stereotypes.” Now, some mental health advocates are concerned about a “backlash.”

Related Links:

— “With mental health legislation stalled in Congress, states act, “Kathryn Smith, Politico, June 02, 2013.

The Washington Post (6/4, Montgomery) reports, “Numbers released in May by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a dramatic spike in suicides among middle-aged people, with the highest increases among men in their 50s, whose rate went up by nearly 50 percent to 30 per 100,000; and women in their early 60s, whose rate rose by nearly 60 percent (though it is still relatively low compared with men, at 7 in 100,000). The highest rates were among white and Native American and Alaskan men. In recent years, deaths by suicide has surpassed deaths by motor vehicle crashes.” The findings “suggest that more suicide research and prevention should ‘address the needs of middle-aged persons,’ a CDC statement said.”

Related Links:

— “Baby boomers are killing themselves at an alarming rate, raising question: Why?, ” Tara Bahrampour, The Washington Post, June 03, 2013.

Politico (5/31, Slack) reported that President Obama and Vice President Biden “will address a White House conference Monday on mental health as part of an effort to launch a national conversation to increase understanding and awareness.” HHS Secretary Sebelius and Education Secretary Duncan “are scheduled to moderate two of the sessions” during the day. Politico lists some of the stakeholders expected at the conference.

Related Links:

— “Obama to speak on mental health, “Donovan Slack, Politico, May 31, 2013.

HealthDay (6/1, Dallas) reported, “Children who are bullied in elementary school are almost five times more likely to engage in self-harm by the time they are teenagers,” according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. For the study, researchers focused on some 5,000 children in the UK. “After taking into account other factors, such as domestic violence, parenting styles or poor family life, the findings still demonstrated a clear link between being bullied at a young age and self-harm as a teen. Bullying, the researchers said, may increase children’s risk for depression or worsen the negative effects of a difficult family situation.”

Related Links:

— “Bullied Kids More Likely to Self-Harm as Teens, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, June 01, 2013.

Medwire (6/3, Lyford) reports, “Poor sleep increases women’s risk for depression by reducing their experience of positive affect in daily life, thereby leading to increased negative reactivity,” according to a study published online May 9 in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after studying “553 women who were monitored for sleep and affect for five days using the experience sampling method (an ambulatory diary technique).” Next, “471 participants who were free of depression at baseline were then periodically assessed for depressive symptomatology over a mean follow up of 432 days.”

Related Links:

— “Pathway from poor sleep to depression elucidated, “Joanna Lyford, Medwire, June 03, 2013.

Bloomberg News (6/1, Hallam) reported, “Older people who undergo general anesthesia for major surgery have a 35 percent higher risk of developing dementia later in life,” according to research to be presented at the European Society of Anaesthesiology’s annual meeting. “The findings are based on information from the Three-City Study, which included thousands of people age 65 and older in Bordeaux, Dijon and Montpellier starting in 1999.” Bloomberg News added, “In a subpopulation of 7,008 citizens, 632 participants developed dementia over the course of the study, and those patients were more likely to have had general anesthesia than those who didn’t develop mental deterioration.” Also covering the story were the Daily Telegraph (UK) (6/1, Donnelly) and the Daily Mail (UK) (6/1, Hope).

Related Links:

— “Dementia Risk Raised 35% by General Anesthesia in Study, ” Kristen Hallam, Bloomberg News, May 31, 2013.

MedPage Today (5/31, Boyles) reports, “Women who experience both sexual and physical abuse during childhood had a more than twofold increased risk for food addiction in adulthood,” according to a study published online in the journal Obesity and sponsored by grant money from the National Institutes of Health. “The analysis of data on 57,321 women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study II (NHSII) revealed that severe physical and sexual abuse were each associated with a roughly 90% increased risk for food addiction (physical abuse relative risk [RR] 1.92, 95% CI 1.76-2.09; sexual abuse RR 1.87, 95% CI 1.69-2.05),” and “suffering both severe physical and sexual abuse during childhood was associated with a 2.40 relative risk (95% CI 2.16-2.67) for food addiction later in life.”

Related Links:

— “Abused Girls May Binge on Food as Adults,” Salynn Boyles, MedPage Today, May 30, 2013.

HealthDay (5/31) reports that, according to research published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, individuals “who experience post-traumatic stress disorder following a heart attack may find it hard to get a good night’s sleep.” Investigators “examined the link between PTSD and sleep in almost 200 patients who suffered a heart attack.” The researchers “found that the more PTSD symptoms people experienced following a heart attack, the worse their self-reported sleep was in the month after their heart attack.”

Related Links:

— “ PTSD After Heart Attack Linked to Poor Sleep , ” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, May 30, 2013.

The New York Times (5/30, A17, Schwarz, Subscription Publication) reports that according to a meta-analysis published online May 29 in JAMA Psychiatry, “children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD] who take stimulant medication do not have a lower risk over all for later substance abuse, contradicting the longstanding and influential message that such medicines tend to deter those with the disorder from abusing other substances.” The analysis “determined that, on average, medications like Adderall [amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts] and Ritalin [methylphenidate] had no effect one way or the other on whether children abused alcohol, marijuana, nicotine or cocaine later in life.”

Related Links:

— “No Link Seen Between Child Stimulant Use and Later Drug Abuse, ” Alan Schwarz, New York Times, May 29, 2013.

HealthDay (5/29, Dallas) reports, “A father’s depression may not have a negative effect on his children if he has a strong marriage, according to a new study” published online in the journal Developmental Psychology. “In conducting the study, the researchers examined information on 606 children and their parents enrolled in a study on early child development done by the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.” The study found that even though “depressed dads may have difficulty addressing the emotional needs of their children…if these fathers have a supportive spouse who listens they may be able to improve their interactions with their children.”

Related Links:

— “A Strong Marriage Can Shield Kids From Dad’s Depression: Study, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, May 28, 2013.